Harry S. Truman - Document Signed - Appoints Key Manhattan Project Scientist

Description

HARRY S. TRUMAN
.  Important partly-printed document signed by, “Harry Truman,” as President appointing, “Henry De Wolf Smyth,” a well-known nuclear physicist and Manhattan Project scientist who proposed the electromagnetic methods that were used to enrich early samples of U-235 used in work on the atomic bomb as, “a Member of the Atomic Energy Commission for the remainder of the term expiring June 30, 1950.”
DOCUMENT SIGNED BY HARRY S. TRUMAN AS PRESIDENT APPOINTING A WELL-KNOWN NUCLEAR PHYSICIST AND MANHATTAN PROJECT SCIENTIST WHO PROPOSED THE ELECTROMAGNETIC METHODS THAT WERE USED TO ENRICH URANIUM IN THE ATOMIC BOMB
The document is countersigned by, “James E. Webb,” as Acting Secretary of State, one page, measures 23” by 19”, with a fully-intact paper seal affixed to the bottom left corner, created in Washington, DC on May 21, 1949, in fine condition with only minor creasing, and accompanied with a certificate of authenticity from University Archives, the world’s leading autograph company.  An exceedingly rare and fascinating association between President Truman and the Manhattan Project, of which led to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II.
AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE AND FASCINATING ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PRESIDENT TRUMAN AND THE MANHATTAN PROJECT, OF WHICH LED TO THE BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI THAT ENDED WORLD WAR II
Henry De Wolf Smyth (1898-1986) was an accomplished physicist and diplomat.  He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Princeton and was a member of the university’s faculty for much of his career.  During World War II, Smyth was a member of the National Defense Research Committee from 1941 to 1943 where he proposed the electromagnetic methods that were used to enrich early samples of U-235 used in early work on the atomic bomb.  From 1943 to 1945, he was a consultant to the Manhattan Project heading research on heavy water while also serving as director of the University of Chicago’s Metallurgical Laboratory. In 1945, in the wake of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he authored
A General Account of the Development of Methods of Using Atomic Energy for Military Purposes
(also known as the “Smyth Report”) which was the first official public account of the development of the atomic bomb.
ACCOMPANIED WITH A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY FROM UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES, THE WORLD’S LEADING AUTOGRAPH COMPANY
In 1949, Harry Truman nominated Smyth to become a member of the Atomic Energy Commission.  Following the first successful Soviet Union atomic test the same year, he argued against Truman’s proposal to pursue the hydrogen bomb.  Smyth resigned from the Atomic Energy Commission in 1954 over Lewis Strauss’ campaign to revoke Robert Oppenheimer’s security clearance, despite his personal antipathy toward the former head of the Manhattan Project.  In 1961, John F. Kennedy appointed him the United States representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency where he played a crucial role in the adoption of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1970. Smyth retired from the IAEA the same year but remained active in public affairs, most notably in his opposition to Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative calling instead for joint reductions in nuclear arms stockpiles.